President Promotes From Within

WASHINGTON — President Clinton completed the selection of his Cabinet on Friday, deciding to promote from within his administration in filling key domestic policy posts for his second term.

Clinton announced his intention to nominate White House aide Alexis Herman as secretary of labor. He also is elevating Andrew Cuomo to run the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Rodney E. Slater to be secretary of transportation.

Both Cuomo, a son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, and Slater, an Arkansas native, are senior officials in the departments they would head if confirmed by the Senate.

In a last-minute move to add Hispanic representation to his Cabinet, Clinton asked Transportation Secretary Federico Pena, who was expected to leave the administration, to switch Cabinet chairs and take over the Department of Energy. Herman and Slater are black.

In the confirmation process Pena could face questions about the Transportation Department's handling of the case in which a ValuJet airliner crashed in Florida last May. Pena was criticized for declaring the airline was safe days before it was grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Although administration officials said achieving diversity was less of a concern than it was during the first term, the final makeup of the 14-member Cabinet--with two black men and a black woman, one Hispanic man and three white women--reflects Clinton's attention to lobbying by influential constituencies within the Democratic Party.

Of the seven white males in his Cabinet choices, one is a Republican, Defense Secretary designate William Cohen.

Clinton announced the appointments at a midday news conference.

He took the unusual step of praising two contenders he did not choose: U.S. Rep. Esteban Torres of California and former Sen. Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania. Both come from the Democratic Party's liberal wing, and Clinton's words may have been intended to reassure that constituency of its importance to the White House following the departure of several administration aides with liberal ties.

Herman has been director of the White House Office of Public Liaison since 1992. Taking over the Labor Department would mark her return to the agency; she was a mid-level appointee there during the Carter administration, where Clinton first met her. She ran the 1992 Democratic convention for Clinton and was deputy director of his transition team.

"She is my eyes and ears" as White House liaison, Clinton said. Herman, who was opposed by some unions in favor of their own candidate, said: "I understand work and I understand workers."

Herman would replace Robert Reich, who is returning to a teaching position at Harvard University.

Cuomo served as assistant HUD secretary during Clinton's first term, earning a reputation as an effective bureaucratic infighter. He was a campaign aide in his father's gubernatorial campaigns and founder of a nonprofit group that provided transitional housing to the homeless before joining the government.

Clinton called Cuomo a passionate believer in doing "what is right" and a champion of "getting it done." He would succeed departing HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.

Slater, a longtime Clinton aide, was a member of the Arkansas Highway Commission from 1987 to 1993, serving as chairman in his last year on the panel. Appointed as federal highway administrator in 1993, he was praised by Clinton for his rapid efforts to rebuild freeways in Southern California following the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Slater "has built bridges of steel and goodwill," Clinton said. "He has been my friend and adviser for many years."

Pena's stock with the White House fell because of his handling of the ValuJet crash, but Clinton praised his efforts to update airline safety rules. Pena, who had planned to leave Washington, joked that he must now take his house off the market.

He would take over the Energy Department from Hazel O'Leary, who was criticized for her sometimes lavish travel expenses but who won plaudits for releasing information about government radiation experiments.

In another nod to Hispanics, Clinton named Aida Alvarez, director of federal housing enterprise oversight at HUD, to replace Small Business Administration Director Phil Lader. Her position, along with that of United Nations Ambassador Bill Richardson, another Hispanic, are being designated Cabinet rank by Clinton.

A native of Puerto Rico, Alvarez made a portion of her remarks in Spanish, noting that "this is a very important moment" for Hispanics.

Clinton also named several White House aides to new posts. He said longtime associate Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty would be his special envoy to Latin America, promoting trade and business. Centrist aide Bruce Reed was named domestic policy adviser. And Federal Reserve Board member Janet Yellen will replace Joseph Stiglitz as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.